Sheikh Zainuddin or Shaikh Zain-al-Din ( bn, শেখ জয়নুদ্দীন fl. 1777–1782) was an artist of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
period who moved from Patna to Calcutta and rose to prominence under European
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
in
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
His works blending
Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
and Western painting techniques belonged to the
Company style
Company style, also known as Company painting or Patna painting (Hindi: ''kampani kalam'') is a term for a hybrid Indo-European style of paintings made in India by Indian artists, many of whom worked for European patrons in the East India Company ...
of painting.
Career
In the late eighteenth century, he worked under
Mary Impey, the wife of Sir
Elijah Impey
Sir Elijah Impey (13 June 17321 October 1809) was a British judge, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, Chief Justice of the Sadr Diwani Adalat and MP for New Romney.
Life
He was born the young ...
, Chief Justice of
Calcutta Supreme Court.
Among the three artists she brought from
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
to make realistic sketches of birds and animals of her private
menagerie
A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern Zoo, zoological garden.
The term was first used in 17th-century France, in reference to ...
, Zainuddin was the foremost. Zainuddin combined English botanical illustration with Mughal Patna Qalam style.
In his paintings, modern critics appreciate the way a "bright, simple background offsets the keenly wrought details of plants and animals".
From 1777 to 1782, Zainuddin worked on Whiteman art paper manufactured in England for his transparent
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
paintings. For his tinted drawings and sketches, he employed meticulous calligraphic strokes reminiscent of the works of Mughal Court artist
Ustad Mansur
Ustad Mansur (flourished 1590-1624) was a seventeenth-century Mughal painter and court artist. He grew up during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605 - 1627) during which period he excelled at depicting plants and animals. He was the earliest artist t ...
. His drawings of mountain-rats, hanging bats, parrots, and storks are distinctive for having both aesthetic appeal and scientific value. These are now preserved in the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
File:Orange-headed_thrush_1778.jpg, Orange-headed thrush
The orange-headed thrush (''Geokichla citrina'') is a bird in the thrush family.
It is common in well-wooded areas of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Most populations are resident. The species shows a preference for shady damp areas ...
and an '' Acherontia'' moth on a '' Bauhinia''
File:A_macaboo_thrush_shaykh_zayn_al-din_calcutta_india_1782.jpg, Chestnut-tailed starling
The chestnut-tailed starling (''Sturnia malabarica''), also called grey-headed starling and grey-headed myna is a member of the starling family. It is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia. ...
on a '' Clerodendrum'' sp.
File:Female Trogon shaykh zayn al-din calcutta india 1779.jpg, ''Harpactes erythrocephalus
The red-headed trogon (''Harpactes erythrocephalus'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae.
Etymology
''H. erythrocephalus'' comes from the Ancient Greek terms ἐρυθρός ''eruthros'' meaning red and κεφαλή, ''kephalē'' mean ...
'' female on a melastome
File:Psilopogon zeylanica Zaynuddin.jpg, ''Psilopogon zeylanicus
The Brown-headed barbet (''Psilopogon zeylanicus'') is an Asian barbet species native to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. It is widespread, with its range stretching from the Terai in so ...
'' on a ''Polyalthia''
File:Anastomus_Zayn_Al_Din.jpg, ''Anastomus oscitans
The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork (''Anastomus oscitans'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy b ...
'' with snail
File:LadyImpeyEphippiorhynchus.jpg, Black-necked stork
File:Sheikh_Zain_ud-Din_-_Indian_Roller_on_Sandalwood.jpg Indian Roller
Exhibitions
Zainuddin's work was first exhibited in 2016 at the
Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, as part of th
Flower Power exhibition At that point his name, written in an old hand-writing was taken to be "Jack Joyenadey." Since then, researchers working together with the museum staff, have deciphered his name.
The updated exhibition i
online
Subsequently, Zainuddin's work was exhibited in 2019 at
London's
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...
, along with that of 17 other artists commissioned by the British East India Company. The director of the Wallace Collection, Xavier Bray, told ''
Smithsonian'' that in Zainuddin's paintings, "Everything is incredibly precise and beautifully observant."
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
18th-century Indian painters
Indian male painters